August 09, 2007
BAG in Midtown, Friday
The inimitable Brett Underwood passes along word (via Michael Castro) of an interesting event taking place on Friday night. The event, sponsored and featuring the Black Artists Group, is taking place in the Rosebud Cafe, the newly-reconstructed complement to the Scott Joplin House. Among the readers is K. Curtis Lyle, who has graced the pages of a couple 52nd City's over the past year.
As I will probably not be able to attend, if someone does, please pass along a quick word of recap or review. Thanks.
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BAG Presents: Diverse Creative Voices on the St. Louis Scene
On Friday, August 10th from 7 - 9 PM BAG presents an evening of diverse creative voices featuring musician Zimbabwe Nkenya on mbira and poets Marsha Cann, Michael Castro and Blue-Mashibini in the historic Rosebud Café at Scott Joplin House 2658 Delmar Blvd.). Native Marsha Cann is well-known as an actress, poet, storyteller and educator. Her work has been published in Wordwalkers, Frontlines and the St. Louis Muse. Cann has often been seen on stage in productions with the Black Rep and her association with that group dates back to the origins of the company when she was a theater major at Washington University.
Michael Castro has ten books of poetry, essays, and translations to his credit, most recently Human Rites: Selected Poems (2002) and A Transparent Lion: Selected Poetry of Attila Jozsef (translated from the Hungarian with Gabor G. Gyukics, 2006). Castro is well known as a performance poet throughout the United States and internationally where he has performed in London, Edinburgh, Toronto, Montreal, New Delhi, and Budapest.
Blue-Mashibini is a poetry team (JoyCe Blue & Deborah Mashibini) who first read together at Shirley LeFlore's Creative Arts & Expression Lab (CAEL) in 1982. After a 20-plus year hiatus they have recently re-united and will be reading from their work in progress, Some Things Need to be Said. Blue-Mashibini's poetic narratives weave common stories that attempt to bridge the divides that continue to separate people based on race and misperceptions of one another.
Zimbabwe Nkenya has presented his work in some of the finest performing arts centers in the country including the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Lincoln Center, and the Knitting Factory. He has performed with Julius Hemphill, Rob Brown, William Parker, Anthony Braxton, Frank Morgan, Floyd LeFlore, Mary Redhouse and countless poets including Shirley LeFlore, Quincy Troupe, Mike '360' Ipiotis, Joy Harjo and Arthur Ray Brown. Currently Zimbabwe is working with Mike Nelson bringing two sacred African instruments, the Bata Drums and the Mbira, together.
The African Mbira, often referred to as a 'thumb piano,' is in fact a multi-octave instrument requiring more than thumbs to achieve its full potential. Nkenya has incorporated the sacred sounds of the Mbira into original jazz-based music for more than 30 years. "In his hands, the Mbira becomes a vibrant channel for spirited, authentic jazz improvisations... using ancient traditions to forge music for today."
This free event is presented by BAG, a collective of artists dedicated to presenting creative work in the tradition of the original BAG (Black Artists Group). Friday's performance is part of an ongoing series that has included internationally known artists Eugene B. Redmond, K. Curtis Lyle, Jerome "Scrooge" Harris, Shirley LeFlore, Oliver Lake and Mike Nelson.
For more information contact Scott Joplin House at 314-340-5790 or email BAG: bag_blackartistsgroup@yahoo.com